Anoka County Sheriff To Discuss 1987 Cold Case Murder

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office will hold a press conference Monday to discuss developments in a cold case murder from 1987.

Authorities say they hope additional evidence that has recently been discovered will help bring more leads in the case.

Around 4:44 a.m. on Dec. 2, 1987, a motorist on Lake Drive in Columbus, Minn. saw a body on the side of the road and called 911. Police arrived on scene to find a naked woman, dead on the side of the road.

Officials determined the woman had been murdered, with the cause of death being strangulation. She was identified as Armonjean Mason, who at the time of her death was 40 years old.

Authorities say Mason was also struck in the head with a blunt object and had puncture wounds on her chest and ligature marks on her wrists and ankles, consistent with having been bound.

The case was investigated until 1988, and five potential “persons of interest” were developed. However, the leads eventually dried up and no charges were ever filed.

The Minnesota BCA recently reviewed the evidence and conducted some DNA testing on physical evidence that did not exist in 1987.

They will reveal the findings in this case at the 2 p.m. press conference. Mason’s family will also be present to address members of the media about the case and its impact.